#IWSG September 2021- Success Isn’t What it Used to Be

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?

When I first started writing, I had no idea what I was doing. For me, at that time, success was all about anyone wanting to read something I wrote. I couldn’t get over the idea of people wanting to read something I wrote. Then once I published and sold a few copies of my work, I lost my mind.

I started trying to “make myself a huge success” but never really defined what that meant. At the time, I knew being a “huge success” was something that I wasn’t but that was about it. I think maybe it had to do with several factors. I still worked a day job, my work wasn’t selling consistently, I wasn’t writing consistently, I wasn’t improving my skill the way I’d hoped, and no one who didn’t already know me knew who I was- I wasn’t getting famous. Plus, I was doing a lot that wasn’t taking me anywhere.

After 8 years of blogging and self-publishing something here and there, while submitting to a few anthologies here and there, something finally clicked with me. I was doing too much and expecting too much. I had to take a step back. I cut back on a lot of the “things” I was doing and began to focus on my joy of writing or using writing therapeutically. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t care whether my books sold well or not, but the truth is, I stopped worrying about sales and started focusing on what made me feel whole and happy. Once I found a way for writing to fit back into my life naturally, my idea of success changed and my approach to writing changed.

I think I’ve reverted back to an innocent newbie writer who was amazed anytime someone wanted to read something she wrote. I guess in terms of writing, that’s success to me. Writing something for myself and sharing it with the world and discovering that at least one other person likes what I wrote.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

I’m so excited to be part of the next chapter of the IWSG Book Club on Goodreads. We’ve made some changes that we hope will excite, motivate, and encourage members on their writing, reading, and blogging journeys.

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of September are Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime and Parallels: Felix Was Here. These are both IWSG anthologies featuring the talents of several IWSG members. Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.

My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members in preparation for the new direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…

Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”

…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.

1) Post to Goodreads and other Library/Cataloging type sites, such as Library Thing (I admit I never finished setting up my profile there, but I am on Goodreads). These are great places for readers to discover books without feeling any pressure to buy books. Plus, since this is a Goodreads club, it’ll be easier for us to feature IWSG member’s books if they are searchable on Goodreads.com.

Now, on to the personal updates.

My personal writing has gone pretty well lately. I’m still struggling to get to the point where I feel I have anything I’m willing to pursue publishing, but that’s ok. It’s not like a have a deadline. I did submit a story for the IWSG anthology, but it was mostly just me going through the motions of submitting. I still submit stories from time to time just to stay in the practice. Sometimes my stories are selected and sometimes they are not. I don’t take it personally. Especially with this story. The story I submitted was one of, at least three, prequel short stories I’ve been working on for my Sayings Series that I’ve neglected for far too long. I would have written the story whether the anthology submission was on the table or not, so I figured, why not.

I finally posted my book reviews for June and July since the two months blended together after I took some time offline. Click here to see my monthly “What I Read” post. I just finished reading two ARCs and can’t wait to talk about them.

My health issues are still an issue, but I’m working through them. I was finally able to see a specialist and I’m on a treatment plan as they continue to run more tests. I don’t consider myself young or old. I have no shame in stating that I’m middle-aged. I like being in the middle, at least, I thought I would. With my health issues, I feel as though I’ve been robbed of my middle-age and jumped straight into seniorhood. It had to happen eventually, but I thought I had another twenty years to prepare. Oh well, can’t complain too much. There are others in this world who would give anything to be where I am, and so, I count my blessings.

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What does success as a writer mean to you?
Wrote anything new lately?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.

*I’m having some access issues. If you see comments from WordPress support, that’s likely me.* 

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Rebecca Douglass ,
T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman ,
Natalie Aguirre,
Karen Lynn, and
C. Lee McKenzie!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #34).

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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